Gary was being dragged down the stream of souls that would pass through to reincarnation. He hadn't been aware of this the last two times. It seems the rune allowed one to get a look into the inner workings of samsara. Gary felt that this would be an opportunity for him to escape. He didn't know what he would do afterwards, but leaving this mess was all too important. It was difficult to push past the crowds of other souls. He could feel their emotions as he passed them by. Anguish, remorse, regret, tranquility, joy. Practically every emotion was present in the crowd. Some souls seemed like they felt nothing. The great river souls wasn't going anywhere in particular it seems to just circle a glowing white sphere. Souls stream out of it, and souls fall back into it. He wondered if this was reality in its entirety. He hoped to find out what existed outside of this place. He struggled to make his way out, but succeeded. He attempted to make his way as far from the river as he could, but a force was pulling him back in. Unexpectedly, spectral hands came out of the white hole and began grabbing the souls that were on the periphery of the river. Gary's soul was grabbed.

Gary was floating in a room with at least 29 other souls. They were all panicked and confused. Sadness could be felt by some of them, curiosity from others.

"Do not panic. Step into the portals." A will could be felt.

Portals appeared in front of them. Some went ahead into the portals. The rest were shocked for resisting . They did not have a way to resist. They all floated into the portals. Except for Gary. He felt no reason to listen to any such command. The shock also did not seem to affect him. A moment later the portals closed.

"Now kill your roommate." came another will. Gary could feel the terror and pain coming from the walls around him. The souls were fighting and killing each other. Eventually, no more suffering could be felt. The portals opened again, and the souls were willed back into the large room. Many of the souls were noticeably dimmer, but a few of them were brighter and held a crimson color. Gary realised what was happening. This was some sort of gu pot. The souls were being forced to fight in order to create one powerful soul.

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"Now kill each other." came another will. Gary backed off into a corner. Some of the souls trembled but took action. The souls crashed into each other. Wearing away at their mass. The red souls were stronger, and quickly tore apart, and consumed the smaller weak souls. These souls grew large. One seems to have spotted Gary. It charged towards him. The black rune floating around Gary turned into a sword, and pierced it, shattering it instantly. Gary decided against consuming the remnants of this person's soul. He didn't know what effect that would have, and didn't want something weird to happen to his soul. The fight between the last 3 red souls ended with the winner also meeting the same fate to Gary's black rune.

"Rest." Gary hadn't spent any energy. Still it was nice to not have to worry for a while. He was left alone for what seemed like a long time. He felt some pity for the poor souls that seemed to have been shattered in vain here. He wondered if there was a finite number of souls in reality. "Go, Kill." Gary had no choice, but to comply this time around, as the room he was in began to shrink.

Gary almost thought he was back in the river of souls. There were hundreds of red, and black souls everywhere. In moments they began to descend on one another. Gary was besieged on all sides. The black sword put in a valiant effort, but he was still being struck from all sides by furious, murderous souls. Gary refused to go down without a fight, and put in his best effort into shattering these challengers. He had struggled through so much, and he wasn't going to let these weaklings get the better of him. The pain was excruciating, but eventually Gary's immediate surroundings were emptied of any other souls. There were still souls fighting in the distance, and a few trickled in Gary's direction, but the black sword was handling them without his input. Gary felt weak, and impotent. His consciousness faded.

He woke to find himself one of the last two remaining souls. In the distance a massive black soul was slowly floating towards him. Likely attracted by the remains of the souls who had attacked Gary. As the soul got closer a strong force held Gary down. It pressed on him, and threatened to shatter him into bits. Suddenly the cube began to react. The smaller cube in Gary's soul began to spin rapidly. It spun violently, but nothing happened. It seemed to be waiting for Gary's input. He couldn't think clearly he assumed the cube was what had teleported him out of danger earlier. Presumably it would do the same now. He decided to return to a place he was familiar with.